


Calling

by Shianhygge



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Break Up, F/M, Reader-Insert, Reunions, The life of a civilian, city destruction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 01:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11545065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shianhygge/pseuds/Shianhygge
Summary: A request for the reunion of Gladio and his ex-long-term girlfriend. Break up during pre-Insomnia and reunion post-Insomnia.





	Calling

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” you asked, out of breath from just running in order to make it to the meet up with your boyfriend on time. You were made to stay after class at the university in order to speak with your professor about your end of the term essay, and perhaps you had stayed longer than you had intended, leaving you with only about twenty minutes to get to the spot outside the Citadel. Luckily, you hadn’t decided to wear uncomfortable shoes that morning, so you had not problems sprinting from “The University of Insomnia,” to Lucis Square just across the city.

And here you were now, stood bent over and panting in front of your boyfriend of four years, Gladiolus Amicitia. You’d literally just run a few kilometers to get to him, and he’d greeted you with the one phrase that you couldn’t believe that you were hearing.

“We need to break up with each other, Y/N.” There was no hesitation as he said this. Gladio’s posture was relaxed and his stare was firm, letting you know that he was serious, but that it really didn’t bother him all that much. You probably would have yelled at your boyfriend, no ex-boyfriend, if it had been a situation where he wasn’t calm and you hadn’t just run a quarter marathon. Instead, you found that you were surprisingly accepting of what Gladio wanted.

Still, you wanted to know why he’d suddenly wanted to end your relationship. The two of you butted head occasionally, what with Gladio being a stubborn hot-head at times, and you being one to emotionally respond to his anger. But your arguments were never those that demonstrated an incompatibility, rather, it showed how much the two of you cared about each other. So you were surprised that he’d suddenly want to leave you. “Why would you want that?” you asked, trying to catch your breath back as your body attempted to regulate your heart beat. “I thought we were great together.”

Gladio tilted his head back, staring up at the blue sky, “Honestly? It’s because our lifestyles don’t fit together.”

You face morphed to that of an unimpressed rock, lacking in any expression, “Are you serious, Gladio? You’re breaking up with me because of something that could be worked out in a simple way?” If it was a conflict in lifestyles, what with him being Prince Noctis’s protector and you being a student, it would be resolved within the year. “I graduate in less than a year, Gladio, so it’s not because of our lifestyles.”

“Fine!” Gladio snapped his head to glare at you, “I’m not feeling much in our relationship. There’s no spark between us anymore.” And then the brown eyed man scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “And I kind of had my eyes set on someone else, Y/N.”

“Oh.” It all made sense now.

“Yeah… oh.” Gladio sighed and slowly strolled towards you, stopping at a respectable distance of a foot. “No hard feelings, right? I mean, you stopped feeling anything more than obligation to me a long time ago.”

Your eyes shifted to the side and you unconsciously bit your lip, “True.” not true… you didn’t often feel much towards people, but you knew that your love for Gladiolus was deep rooted into the depths of your heart. But you couldn’t tell him this. So you smiled, inward it was bitter, outward, it was encouragingly bright. “Go after her, you big cuddly bear.” And he left you with a big, warm hug and a bright smile as you waved him off.

And when he was no longer in sight, your own smile fell and you turned to go back to the direction you came from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_A month later, Niflheim invaded Insomnia._

You had been watching the treaty signing ceremony in your university apartment with a disapproving frown on your face, cursing the Niflheim Empire for forcing your king into such a position. And then, you heard the explosion just as the channel went dead. When you turned your head to look out the apartment living room windows, you could see the smoke rising from the direction of the Citadel and the airships flying in the distance of the city. And when the Citadel exploded, accompanied by the firing of automatic weapons into the streets below, you were given a clear view of the destruction. Down below, shots rang out and people screamed, in the distance, more and more explosions were set off.

The safest thing for you to do at that moment was to avoid going outside, and so you found your feet taking yourself into your bedroom to crouch in your walk-in closet. But as soon as you were at the door to your closet, you briefly saw the sky flicker out of the corner of your eyes. And then, your mind brought up a memory from three years ago, when Gladiolus explained that the King was personally in charge of the safety of citizens within Insomnia because of the New Wall. Your eyes widened in horror, quickly drawing up a conclusion as to the phenomenon in the sky. “No…” One by one, cracks appeared in the sky until is all dissolved, the city’s protection gone. You were horrified as you backed into the closet wall and slid to the floor, your hand clutched your cell phone.

And then, on instinct, you scrolled through the contacts on your phone and dialed, pressing the smartphone to your ear and muttering, “Please pick up. Please pick up. Please, Gladio.”

_**“We are sorry, but number you dialed is not available. Please hang up or leave a message at the tone.”** _

At the sound of the mechanical voice, you allowed a terrified whimper to escape your lips.  _ **Beep.**_  “Gladio… I know that I haven’t called you in a while… and I’m sorry that I’m such a terrible friend… but where are you?” Another explosion shook the city, this time closer to the University housing. “Wherever you are… I hope you’re safe. I hope you’re out of Insomnia. T-The Niffs… they attacked the city during the signing ceremony and the Wall is gone. GONE!” From outside you could hear screaming and more shooting, “Gladio, I’m scared. They released Magitek soldiers into the streets and they’re attacking civilians. I’m hiding in my apartment right now, but I don’t know how safe it’ll be in-“  _ **Crash, Thud**._  A sound came from somewhere on your floor and there was screaming. You whimpered and sobbed, terrified, “S-something’s on my floor… Everyone’s screaming…”  _ **Slam. Crack. Boom.**_  You could hear metal collide with wood and your apartment door was destroyed. “Something’s in my apartment.” You stood, shaking, and grabbed your metal bat, slipping your phone into the back pocket of your jeans.

Heavy thumps echoed in your apartment as you waited in silence, weapon up and at the ready though you were still shaking.  _What the hell am I doing? I’m not trained for this kind of shit._  You thought to yourself as the thumps got progressively closer. Whatever it was made a mechanical screech as it stopped outside the closet door, and against your will, you yelped at the noise. The next thing you knew, the door to the closet was thrown open and a Niflheim soldier with glowing red eyes and an axe stood in front of you.

“Fuck!” You screamed, ducking out of the way of a descending axe head, and quickly scurried around the soldier, dragging your bat with you. And as you ran out of your apartment door, you were met with more soldiers sprinting down the right hallway. “Why won’t you leave me alone!” You exclaimed, before throwing your cell phone to distract them and bolting out of the hallway. From behind you heard the crack of your cellphone being destroyed and the heavy thumps as the soldiers gave chase, but you didn’t look back, making for the emergency exit and sitting on the railings to slide down each level faster.

You were thankful that you had the established habit of running every day in order to keep in shape. Otherwise, you were sure that the Magitek soldiers would have caught you in the stairwell. Once you escaped the apartment building, however, you paused in horror before sprinting towards the city’s gates. All around you was destruction and death, but you didn’t stop. No. At that moment, all you had to do was escape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Gladio listened to your message, news of the attack had reached Galdin Quay.

When the two of you broke up, Gladiolus had gone off to date other women, and you had gone back to life as a student in university. Though the two of you had parted on amiable terms, neither of you had bothered to contact each other. Perhaps the two of you were too busy for each other at the time, or perhaps speaking to one another would bring back memories of what could have been, and ignite the dwindling flames within your hearts. It had been a fear on both your parts that if your feelings rekindled, maybe he would get bored of you again. And while you loved Gladiolus, you didn’t want to experience those feelings again. And so, the two of you were happy not keeping in contact with one another.

And then you called him during the attack on Insomnia… but he hadn’t picked up. Perhaps he had been in a cave, exploring with his friends, or fighting daemons, or simply that he didn’t have cell reception, as was common outside of Insomnia. But it hadn’t been those cases at all. He’d received your call, had heard the ringtone and seen your caller ID. For a few moments, the Prince’s shield debated whether he should talk to you, whether he should pick up. And in the end, he decided to ignore your call, instead going back to reading in the back seat of the Regalia as Ignis drove the rest of the way to Galdin Quay.

It was a happy stay at Galdin Quay, laughing at Noctis’s inability to handle a massage, and the Prince’s love of fishing. But once they all woke the next day, news of the invasion had reached everyone, and Gladio paled when he remembered your call the day before. It was after he and Ignis broke the news to Noctis that Gladio took his cell phone out and went to listen to the message that you left him, glad that he hadn’t deleted it yesterday.

Gladiolus’s breathing quickened when he heard your trembling voice through the phone’s speaker, it was silent in the background, so he assumed that you were hiding somewhere.  _ **“Gladio… I know that I haven’t called you in a while… and I’m sorry that I’m such a terrible friend… but where are you?”**_  No. You weren’t a terrible friend to him because you were both terrible to each other. There was a pause as an explosion could barely be heard in the background, and Gladio’s grip tightened on the phone.  ** _“Wherever you are… I hope you’re safe. I hope you’re out of Insomnia. T-The Niffs… they attacked the city during the signing ceremony and the Wall is gone. GONE! Gladio, I’m scared. They released Magitek soldiers into the streets and they’re attacking civilians. I’m hiding in my apartment right now, but I don’t know how safe it’ll be in-Crash, Thud!”_**  Gladio swore when he heard the shattering of windows and screams, the Niffs might have specifically targeted the University.  _ **“S-something’s on my floor… Everyone’s screaming…Slam. Crack. Boom.”**_  A dread filled Gladio’s stomach when he heard you whimper,  _ **“Something’s in my apartment.”**_ You went silent, but the message played on, allowing Gladio to hear your struggle with the Magitek soldiers before he heard the phone break and the message ended.

Gladio stared blankly at the open water as he lowered his phone from his ear. His phone, now that the messaged had stopped playing, had reverted back to its home screen, where your picture remained as his wallpaper long after he had broken up with you. “Y/N.” The tall, gruff man whispered before quickly dialing your number and holding it up to his ear, hoping that you would pick up.

**_“We are sorry, but the number you’ve dialed is unavailable, please hang up and try again.”_ **

And the man tried again and again, but the results were still the same. It was futile because you weren’t going to pick up your phone ever again, and Gladio knew that. The dread overcame Gladio at that point and he swore, falling to his knees, staring at his screensaver, a picture of your smiling face looking back at him. “Damn it! I should’ve picked up. Then I… maybe I could have told you.”

His unsaid words to you. Everything that Gladio wanted to say to you but couldn’t, so he ran from you. He’d made an excuse that he’d grown bored of you. When truthfully, he couldn’t get enough of you. But his life could end at any moment, and so, like a fool, he believed that leaving you would protect you from the pain of losing him. But now, this guilt and sadness gnawed on his heart, and it made him think that this was much worse.

The uncertainty stung because Gladio didn’t know if you were dead or alive. Should he be mourning, or should he be out there searching for you? Because after everything he’s done, all he wanted was to hold you in his arms and never let you go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn’t take you long to get to get help after escaping from the burning city. You’d walked through Leide before stopping at Hammerhead a few nights until the Imperial blockade had been lifted and proceeded to catch a ride with a few Hunters northwest.

Of course, because they were hunters, your companions often stopped to do a few hunts, sometimes during the day and sometimes during the night, leaving you at the campsite to help prepare meals. Because, let’s face it, you could handle yourself against maybe one or two Magitek soldiers, but you lacked any fighting experience when it came to wildlife and daemons.

During those times, where you were left alone at a campsite, you would look up to the sky and wonder where Gladio was. If he had been in the city during the attack, it was likely that he was able to escape with the Prince to Altissia. And if that was the case, then you were glad that he was safe. Often, you found your eyes drifting to the sky as you spoke aloud to a man that wasn’t with you, “There’s a legend from some foreign land that there are strings that bind us to our fate.” You lifted your hand to the sky to look for a crimson string that you knew wouldn’t be there. “There’s another legend that so long as two people live under the same sky and see the same sky, they would always be reunited.”

_“I kind of had my eyes set on someone else, Y/N… I mean, you stopped feeling anything more than obligation to me a long time ago.”_

You grit your teeth and a tear slid silently from the corner of your eyes, “I lied. I didn’t want to let you go. So can you hear me calling, Gladio? From wherever you are… I hope that you can hear my heart calling for us to be together again.”

Elsewhere, Gladio laid under the same sky, his arms folded behind his head. He’d exchange his black leather jacket in favor of a grey-ish black tank top as he rested under the evening sky. Noctis and Prompto were off goofing around, and Ignis was busy cooking, so Gladio finally had time to think. At first his thoughts went towards Iris in Lestallum, eager to see is little sister again. But then, his thought drifted almost immediately to you. And something within him made him reach out towards the sky.

“Y/N.” Gladio whispered longingly, “I wish I knew where you are. You have to be safe. You just have to. And if you’re not…” the muscular teddy bear took in a sharp breath before releasing it. “Just send me a sign and I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

It took about a week before your companions were able to drop you off at Lestallum. And though it was fun being out on an adventure of sorts, you were more than happy to be in a place safe from daemons and wildlife. So you bid your Hunter friends farewell, seeing them off down the road to the Hunter HQ.

Humming, you pivoted in place and steadily strolled into the peaceful town, waving back bewilderedly when complete strangers greeted you with a cheerful wave. It was much more different than living in Insomnia, and you found it refreshing. Walking around town, you were quick to find the spot with the best view of the meteor. And you just stood there, admiring the view, the wind blowing your hair gently. Closing your eyes and humming, you thought to yourself, Hmmm I could relax here forever.

Ignis had only just parked the car in Lestallum’s parking lot when Gladio felt the urge to look out at the meteor, “I’ll meet you guys at The Leville.” the Prince’s shield commented as he quickly got out of the car, not waiting for a response.

A cool breeze hit the man as he quickly made his way towards the stairs and descended towards the observation platform, pausing at the railing to gaze out at the setting sun over the meteor. The first time he saw the view in Lestallum, Prompto had pestered them for a group picture before they were forced to move on. Now, without the urgency that came with traveling in a group, Gladio was able to take in the sight, closing his eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the breeze.

Suddenly, the wind quickened, causing you and Gladio to jolt from your relaxed states and look around, you looking left, and Gladio looking right.

It was then, that the two of you noticed that you were standing literally two meters apart, right next to each other. Your eyes met his brown orbs and your breathing hitched, “Gladio.”

He was a surprised as you were, but instead of words leaving him, Gladio acted, swiftly crossing the distance between you two and taking you in his arms, pressing kisses to your head, “You’re here. You’re really here. Y/N. I take everything I said back. I wasn’t bored of you, I need you to know that.”

Closing your eyes, you relaxed in Gladio’s embrace. “And I need you to know that I lied. My feelings for you never ceased. I just wanted you to be happy.”

Your gruff teddy bear tightened his embrace, “I still love you, Y/N. I was being stupid, but will you take me back?”

Pulling back, you tip-toed to nuzzle Gladio’s lips with your own, “Always.“

_**We both live under and see the same sky. Every day. Maybe I’ll see the night while you see the day, but it’s always the same sky either way. And so long as we are connected by this sky or the strings of fate, we will see each other again.** _

_**But until that day, can you hear me calling for you?** _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
